Apparatus for utilizing lump-fuel



J H. COOPERy APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING LUMP FUEL*l APPLICATION HLED JULY 26.1918.

15,396,097. APatented Nov. 8, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. H. COOPER. APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING LUMP FUEL.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20,1918- J. H. COOPER. APPARATUS FOR umlzms LUMP FUEL.

APPLICATION HLED IULY 20.19I8- 1,396,097.. l Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

fmjenr: Zl//ie'' n Joseph Hbaper provision UNITED STATES JOSEPH H. COOPER, 0F CHICAGO,

PATENT OFFICE.

ILLINOIS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented N ov. 8, 1921.

Application led Juy 20, 1918. Serial No. 245,803.

To allzu/1.0m t may concern.'

e it known that I, JOSEPH H. COOPER, a

Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Utilizing Lump-Fuel, of lwhich the following `is a specification.

his invention relates to the utilization ofv lump fuel, such as coal, lignite, peat and the like, and has for its primary object the of a novel apparatus by which said lump fuel mayV with air and burned without the use of storage chambers and mechanism for moving ust; and without the expenses normally entailed by the installation,

upkeep of fuel dust storage facilities.

nother object 1s the provision of an improved means for mixing 4 whereby the air is uniformly impregnated with the dust.

A further Object lies in the provision of improved compact and durable apparatus for carrying out] the objects above mentioned.

Other Objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this Specication and illustrate the preferred embodimentof the mechanical features of the invention.I

The apparatus of the drawings illustrates the invention as tives, though it ployed in stationary heating plants.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevation of a locomotive and I g the present invention, portions being broken away and parte shown in vertical section for ciearness. i

Fig. 2 is a top plan of the same, the pulverizing disks beingomitted. rig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken oproniinately on iine 3-3 of Fig. l and i :rating the fuel puiverizing e apparatus.

vatioii ef 'the apparatus parte brei-ren away citizen of the United States, residing at Chii cago, .1n the county of e pulverized, mixed,

operation and' other parts in vertical section for better illustration of details.

ig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4. ig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 Of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is an edge view of one of the pulverizing disks employed, illustrating a portioi of the shaft on which it is mounted, an

Fig. 8 is a side view thereof.

or convenience in description coal will be considered hereinafter as the fuel being used, though it is to be understood that the invention is adapted to the utilization of other fuels.

eference numeral l0 indicates generally a railway locomotivehaving its tender generally indicated at ll. In addition to a water tank l2, the tender ll has an open hopper f or lump coal which discharges arch whereby the fiame from fuel entering the lire-box through aperture 17 on the bed 34 of the tender in any suitable manner, for instance by I-beams 35 shown in Fig. 1. The lower portion of the pulverizing chamber is partitioned oil'l by means of a horizontal screen 36 to form an air cham` 7 which is of shallow depth and rectangular in outline as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 3. referabiy the Screen 36 comprises a web of sheet metal perforated by slits 38 which in ordinary practice are one inch long by l/IOO of an inch in width.

The side walls 81 32 approach i between arms other as at 39 and 41. Spaced, horizontally disposed arms 42 project inwardly from wall 31 at its inmost portion 39 and stand in staggered relation to similar arms 43 which project inwardly from wall 32 in the same plane at the inmost portion 41. Similarly spaced horizontal arms 44 project inwardly from wall 31 near the bottom of pulverizing chamber 27, and oppositely alined with them in the same horizontal plane are similar arms 45 projecting inwardly of the pulverizing chamber from wall 32; arms and 45 being positioned in the upper portion of the widest partl of the pulverizing chamber.

Mounted in suitable bearings 46 carried by the endl walls 28 and 29 of the pulverizing chamber, and with their axes in the plane of arms 42 and 43, are a pair of parallel shafts 47 and 48 which respectively traverse the inner ends of arms 42 and 43 and are spaced very slightly from the ends of those arms. Each shaft carries a plurality of pulverizing disks 49 each secured upon its shaft by a key 51 and comprising regularly spaced, radially extending, spur-like projections 52 between which lumps of coal from hopper 13 fall and are carried. Each of the projections 52 is frusto-pyrami lal and has its corners beveled deeply as at 53 at its outer end, said beveling tapering to aractically nothing at the meeting point of adjacent projections. The base of each projection is, of course, integrally merged with the central hub portion of the disk. and the outer end of each projection is preferably curved c vlindrically about the axis of the disk. The arms 42, as well as the arms 43, are spaced from each other substantially the thickness of one disk 49, and the shafts 47 and 48 are each provided with as many disks as there are interstices 42 and 43, the disks fitting closely between the arms and being spaced apart to fit closely between each other. Also the spacing of shafts 47 and 48 from each other is such that the ends of projections are very close to the opposite shaft in each instance. The close interfitting of these parts results in a very fine initial crushing of the lump coal carried in hopper 13. j

Mounted in suitable bearings 54 in the front and rear walls of the pulverizing chamber, positioned centrally of that chamber, and below and in parallelism with shafts 47 and 48, is a driving shaft 55; and on either side of the driving-shaft and in a common plane with that shaft and the arms 44 and "45. are a pair of shafts 56 and 57 carried in suitable bearings 58 in the front and rear walls of the pulverizing chamber. Each of the shafts, 55, 56 and 57 is provided with disks 49, the disks on shaft 55 interfitting on opposite sides of that shaft with the disks on shafts 56 and 57 and the disks on the latter two shafts interitting with the arms '44 and 45 respectively.' The spacing of shafts 55, 56 and 57 is also such that there is very little space between the ends of the projections 52 of one shaft and the surface of the adjacent shaft. Preferably the shafts 47 and.48 are so positioned and spaced above shafts 55, 56 and 57 that the peripheries of the disks on shafts 47 and 48 dip below the horizontal plane tangent to the peripheries of the disks on the other three shafts as seen in Fig. 6, so that fuel thrown downwardly 4 from leither of the upper sets of disks traverses a very short path before it is caught by the three -lower sets of pulverizing disks. Preferably also sha positioned as to bring the peripheries of their respective disks 49 very close to the upper surface of the screen36 in order to prevent any appreciable accumulation of fuel dust upon the screen.

A steam turbine, indicated at 59 and fed through a steam pipe 61, drives a pinion 62 fixed upon the turbine shaft 63, the pinion meshing with a gear 64 keyed upon shaft 55. The turbine and other parts just enumerated are located just in front of the forward end of the pulverizing chamber. The ends of shafts 47, 48, 55, and rear end walls 28 and 29, carry each a sprocket wheel 65, and an endless chain 66 at each end of the chamber passes over the sprocket wheel of shaft 55 and downwardly therefrom under and around the sprocket wheels of shafts 56 and 57 and thence upwardly over the sprocket wheels of shafts 47 and 48. Preferably shaft 55 rotates counter clockwise as shown byits arrow in Fig. 6, while the chain 66 causes the 'other shafts 47, 48, 56 and 57 to rotate clockwise.

At its rear end the feeding chamber 37 is formed with a straight walled, forwarjdly flaring, inlet passage 67; and the forward end of the feeding chamber terminates in a straight walled, forwardly tapering, outlet passage 68. A bevel gear 69 keyed to the forward end of shaft 55, meshes with a bevel gear 71 keyed upon the operating shaft 72 of'a rotary fan 73, the delivery pipe 74 of which passes backwardly along the bed 34 of the tender to the rear end of the pulverizing chamber where, by means of a suitably sha-pcd conduit 75, it communicates with the rear end of the inlet passage 67 of the feeding chamber. The outlet passage 68 of the feeding chamber discharges into the fuel feed pipe 15.

In the operation of the invention, lump coal is dumped into the hopper 13 and rests upon the disks 49 of the shafts 47 and 48 as well as on the.arms 42 and 43. Application of steam to the turbine 59 revolves shaft 55 and the other four shafts driven therefrom by the chains 66, the directions of rotation being preferably as indicated by the curved arrows in Fig. 6. The coal is pulverized bets 55, 56 and 57 are so..l

56 and 57, outside the front tween the whirling projections 52 of adjadisks on different shafts. The fuel laden air cent disks and also between those projections passing from feed pipe l through aperture and the arms 42 and 43. The coal pulverized 17 into the fire-box is there ignited and emby the disks on shafts 47 and 48 'drops onto ployed for heating the boiler 25.

the three Isets of disks cairied by shafts 55,56 Various features of utilityv result from the 7o and 57 and onto arms 44 and 45, where it is herein described apparatus. One of these is more finely pulverized and from which it the elimination of dangers normally incidrops upon screen 36. Vhile the direction dent to the storage of powdered fuel. It of rotation of the upper disks is such that will be borne in mind that the apparatus coal being crushed is initially carried to the herein described is applicable both to staright in Fig. 6 toward wall 3l, the rapid tionary heating plants as well as to railway whirling of all of the disks together with the ocomotives 'and other movable heating reverse rotation of those disks keyed upon plants. By pulverizing the fuel in the imshaft 55 distributes the fuel between the mediate vicinity of the heating plant where three lower sets of disks; and, after the it is used, and by crushing only the amount crushing effect of these latter disks is comrequired for present needs, as well as b plete, the resulting fuel dust is evenly dis feeding powdered fuel directly' from the pultributed by these three lower sets of disks verizer into the furnace, the necessity for over the screen 36. The force of gravity, storing powdered fuel is obviated. Simulaided by the vibrations set up by the action taneously there are eliminated all dangers of of the pulverizing disks and the rotation of spontaneous combustion in stored bodies of constantly through the slits 38 of the screen into and from storage bins; the advantages into the forwardly moving current of air of the use of pulverized fuel may therefore assing continuously through the air chambel obtained without necessitating alteralier 37. Because of the even distribution of tions in the numberless lump fuel bins and the dust over the screen 36, a uniform dishandling plants now in use. Another featribution of fuel dust through this current of ture of utility, where the invention is apairis effected. Because of the forwardly dip lied to the operation of railway loconioverging character of the .side walls of the intives, lies in the fact that the advantages of et passage 67, the feeding air lpasses with the use of pulverized fuel may be obtained uniform velocity and in uniform volume bein locomotives without the expenses incineath the whole area of screen 36 and in its dent to the installation of crushing plants at passage is permeated with a uniformly diseach railway coal depot. A further feature tributed mass of powdered fuel. The conof utility resides in the fact that the dirt verging side walls of outlet passage 68, at normally incident to the handling into and e forward end of the feeding chamber, out of storage of powdered fuel, caused by operate to change the cross-sectional contour fuel dust leaking from the handling apof the current of feeding air from a horizonparatus and floating through the air against tally attenuated rectangle to a circle in pipe all surrounding objects, is done away with;

y 15, and this change of contour sets up in a the pulverized fuel beine' by my invention positive manner many rapidly interweaving fed immediately to the libre-box and burned currents of dust laden air in feed pipe 15, and the apparatus herein described being so that the distribution of pulverized fuel in tight so that the pulverized fuel has no opthe feeding air is maintained uniform from portunity to escape and soil buildings and the feeding chamber 37 to the lire-box 16. other adjacent objects. A further feature is is of course a great advantage in tiring of utility incident to the even distribution 52 ofthe disks 49'frusto-pyramidal and by operated in accordance withthe present inis readily and with great violence struck and various metal parts of the plant are not pulverized between these projections and the .subjected to frequent and rapid fiuctuations reason of the fact that some of the coal is to :crystallization and weakening of the thrown upwardly toward wall 32 and the metal. y gearin the pulverizing apparalast mentioned arms by the actions ofthe tus directly to the fan producing the feeding disks on shafts 48 and 57. The beveled surair, a synchronous fluctuation of the amount faces of the projections 53 operate as wedgof fuel powdered and the amount of feeding ing elements to pinch lumps of coal beair compressed results, so that the single optween these projectionsuand ,the arms and eration of controllinnC the steam passing to also between the projections -off contiguous. the turbine 59 governs the amount of fuel 130 fed to the fire-box while leaving the proporpulverizing meansat predetermined relative tions of air and fuel constant in feed pipe 15. speed ratios t'o cause the delivery of air and I claim.: i uel to said chamber in the proper propor- 1. In an apparatus of the character detion to produce a combustive mixture.

5 scribedfthe combination of fuel pulverizing 2. In an apparatus of the character demeans, a screen disposed beneath said means scribed, the combination of a relatively through which said pulverized fuel is adaptbroad and shallow mixing chamber, a screen ed to pass, a long shallow chamber disposed above said chamber, means for pulverizing beneath said screen, a conduit for Supplying and delivering fuel to said screen, an air 10 air under pressure to said chamber at one supply pipe, a flaring connection between end thereof, said air supplying conduit besaid pipe and one end of said chamber, a ing of less cross sectional area than said delivery pipe at the opposite end of the chamber and having a flaring connection chamber through which a mixture of air with an end of the chamber to distribute and uel is delivered from the chamber, a

15 the air throughout the chamber, a delivery Haring connection between said delivery pipe pipe leading from the opposite end of said and said chamber, a blower, and means for chamber, and having a flaring connection operating said pulverizing means and said with the chamber, a blower for delivering blower at predetermined relative speed air under pressure to said supplyconduit, ratios.

20 and means for operating said blower and JOSEPH H. COOPER. 

